In Focus: French and German 2017 Elections
| DOI | 10.1177/2041905817744630 |
| Date | 01 December 2017 |
| Author | Benjamin D. Hennig |
| Published date | 01 December 2017 |
20 POLITICAL INSIGHT • DECEMBER 2017
In Focus
French and German
2017 Elections
Politically, the presidential election in
France in June 2017 and the general
election in Germany in September
were very dierent events. The
French voted for their new head of state, and
subsequently a national assembly. German
voters elected representatives to the federal
parliament, with the federal assembly voting
for a new president of Germany.
A particular focus of the debate ahead
of both polls - as well as in their aftermath
- was the role that right-wing and populist
tendencies played in the outcome. This
followed the EU referendum in the United
Kingdom and Donald Trump’s election as
president of the United States of America.
A major breakthrough for right-wing
politics in the two most dominant political
players in the European Union would have
been seen as a strong shift in the direction
of the European project. In the end, extreme
political forces did not come to power.
The Front National’s (National Front, FN)
Marine Le Pen suered a decisive loss in the
second-round of France’s presidential vote.
Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for
Germany, AfD) won 12.6 per cent of the vote
but it is still far from reaching any prospect
of being involved in a government coalition
in Germany’s proportional representation
system.
Though in both countries the political
far-right was denied direct political power,
their relative electoral success demands
examination. In Britain, the real achievement
of the United Kingdom Independence Party
(Ukip) was in securing a referendum on the
country’s membership in the European Union
and all the political turmoil that followed.
Similarly, the FN’s and AfD’s role in the
political landscape and their impact on the
new governments in both countries, needs
Benjamin D. Hennig plots the shape of elections that saw mainstream politicians retain power but the
far-right gain ground in Europe’s political powerhouses.
to be taken into consideration when trying to
understand the implications of both parties’
success, both for their home countries and for
Europe more widely.
The party leaders’ responses to the
populists’ success could not have been more
dierent: in France, Emmanuel Macron led
a pro-European liberal campaign, winning a
decisive victory. (Macron’s popularity ratings
subsequently tumbled in the rst months
of his presidency.) In contrast, Merkel’s early
responses – after having made considerable
losses despite remaining the strongest party –
were more cautious. At the time of writing, the
language in German coalition talks has struck
a dicult balance between a liberal stance
and addressing concerns fuelled by the rise of
the extreme right-wing.
The geographical patterns of the electoral
outcomes in France and Germany play an
important role in understanding changes
in the political structures of both countries.
The maps included look at French and
German electoral patterns from a population
perspective by using a gridded population
cartogram where each area is shown in
French election results
Political Insight December 2017.indd 20 03/11/2017 10:54
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